MOVIE REVIEW: SONG SUNG BLUES

Two down-on-their-luck performers form a Neil Diamond tribute band, proving it's never too late to find love and follow your dreams.

Director: Craig Brewer

Cast: Hugh Jackman, Kate Hudson, Michael Imperioli, Ella Anderson, Mustafa Shakir, Fisher Stevens, Jim Belushi

Release Date: December 25, 202

Genre: Biography, Drama, History, Music, Musical

Rated PG-13 for thematic material, some strong language, some sexual material and brief drug use.

Runtime: 2h 13m

Review:

Song Sung Blues is earnest, almost to a fault, in its utterly non cynical approach to telling the peaks and valleys of Mike and Claire Sardina powered by a pair of stellar turns from Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson.  Craig Brewer’s film carries an air of authenticity that borders on schmaltzy at various points during the runtime but thankfully veers away from at decisive moments in the film.  The opening act where the two fall in love and begin their rise as Lighting and Thunder with the two downtrodden dreamers finding their way to success.  Those moments are incredibly uplifting and hard to resist regardless of how you feel about Neil Diamond’s music because there’s just something rousing about the whole thing.  Brewer smartly lets his cast do the heavy lifting during the numerous musical numbers that pepper the film and serve as the beating heart of the whole thing.  That opening act is a wide eye exercise in exuberance in their unabashed pursuit of their dreams before tragedy brings it all to a screeching halt.  Once the story hits its middle segment it allows Jackman and Hudson to really flex their dramatic muscle as they provide an honesty to their performances that shows these people’s heart laid bare.  Both are fantastic during the series of well staged musical as they leave every ounce of energy on the stage but the quieter moments really display the breadth of their talent.  Their chemistry together makes the whole thing work so well that you can’t help but root for the couple to finally make it to the top, all thanks to their nuanced turns.  Song Sung Blues does suffer a bit from some overly hokey dialogue which fall flat in the hands of lesser performers but Jackman and Hudson take you on an emotional journey that makes you feel every triumph and heartache on a personal level.  

B+

MOVIE REVIEW: LOVE HURTS

 

Marvin is a Milwaukee realtor who receives a crimson envelope from Rose, a former partner-in-crime whom he left for dead. He now finds himself thrust back into a world of ruthless hit men and double-crosses that turn his open houses into deadly war zones. Hunted by his brother, a volatile crime lord, Marvin must confront the choices that haunt him and the history he never truly buried.

Director: Jonathan Eusebio

Cast: Ke Huy Quan, Ariana DeBose, Daniel Wu, Marshawn Lynch, Mustafa Shakir, Lio Tipton, Rhys Darby, André Eriksen, Sean Astin

Release Date: February 7, 2025

Genre: Action, Comedy

Rated R for strong/bloody violence and language throughout.

Runtime: 1h 23m

Review:

Love Hurts boasts a game cast, led by an ever-likeable Ke Huy Quan, and some fun action sequences but the clunky executions keep this action comedy from hitting its mark.  Stunt performer/Assistant Director, Jonathan Eusebio, helms his first film here and he clearly feels much more comfortable during the highly energetic and choregraphed fight sequences, but he struggles to find a cohesive flow and tone outside of those moments.  The film moves at a breakneck pace which should work in its favor, but it doesn’t matter since the characters are written so cartoonishly over the top that you are left wishing Eusebio would just fully embrace the Looney Tunes madness.  Instead, there's far too much time spent on a rather nonsensical love story that never connects the way it should despite Ke Huy Quan and Ariana DeBose best efforts.   André Eriksen and Marshawn Lynch prove to be a better onscreen bouncing off each other with ease as a pair of dim assassins.  Mustafa Shakir and Lio Tipton also bring some fun chemistry together as another, more cerebral, assassin and realtor assistant who finds a weird sort of love connection.  Ke Huy Quan is fully committed in the main role, and he brings his generally likeable onscreen persona to his reformed killer.  Ariana DeBose is oddly stiff here, never nailing the funny cool vibe the character is supposed to exude.  Daniel Wu does what he can in the villain role but there's not much there to work with outside of his perchance for revenge and love of boba tea.  Love Hurts ultimately feels instantly disposable and forgettable once it’s all said and done.

C-